The Alphabet Workout is a research-supported, action-based phonics program that capitalizes on a young child’s excitement for learning to read. Children march, jump, spin, and sing as they learn letter sounds, then blend them together to make words on the blending train. Letter sounds are taught through movement and music designed to stimulate brain development and foster letter sound memory. Alphabet Workout is a tradename of Butterfly Park Educational Materials, Inc.
The Alphabet Workout provides a thorough foundation for reading and writing. It teaches the letter sounds in an enjoyable, multisensory way, and enables children to use them to read and write words. The basic introductory curriculum is designed to introduce children to the concept that letters are simply pictures of sounds. The core program found in Introduction to Letter Sounds is a series of short, interconnected stories featuring each letter sound. In Butterfly Park, children and animals take the shape of each letter; and, in doing an action or activity, make the sound of the letter. Students use all their senses as they look at the letters, listen to the stories, act them out, and say the letter sounds. The Alphabet Workout Music CD adds songs for every sound in the introductory program.
The Alphabet Workout is suitable for use in school as well as home settings. It is effective with preschool, kindergarten, first grade, ESL, and children with learning disabilities. Print out a “Daily Lesson Plan” from the Resources section of the website to obtain free suggestions for implementing the Alphabet Workout.
Alphabet Workout includes materials for phonics, phonemic awareness, handwriting, and for learning irregular or 'tricky’ sight words such as said, was and the. Picture Stories for Advanced Letter Sounds, in either flash card or reproducible worksheet form, takes students to the next level by introducing Magic E, Walkers, au/aw, oi/oy, igh, etc. in a format using poems, drawing, and writing.
The basic skills for learning to read and write are:
- Phonemic Awareness – The ability to hear the separate sounds (phonemes) in words
- Phonics – The ability to see the relationships between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes).
- Blending – The ability to link sounds together to make words
- Handwriting – The ability to form letters (graphemes) correctly
- Vocabulary, fluency, comprehension – The ability to derive meaning from the written word quickly
1. Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear the separate sounds (phonemes) in words. We have a variety of products to support teaching and practicing phonemic awareness. Check Resources for “Activities for Phonemic Awareness.”
2. Phonics - Learning the Letter Sounds
In the Alphabet Workout the 42 main sounds of English are taught, not just the alphabet. Introduction to Letter Sounds includes:
- 26 basic alphabet sounds
- Both long and short sounds for vowels (a, e, i, o, u, y)
- 4 consonant digraphs (ch, sh, wh, th)
- 3 vowel teams (oo,ou,ow)
- 2 sounds for c, g, s, th, oo, and ow
Each sound has a story, an action, an opportunity to dramatize the story, and a song which help children remember the letter(s) that represent it. As a child progresses you can point to the letters and see how quickly they can do the action and say the sound. One letter sound can be taught each day. As a child becomes more confident, the actions may no longer be necessary.
Children should learn each letter by its sound, not its name. For instance, the letter e should be called /ĕ/ (as in end) not /ē/ (as in me). Similarly, the letter p should be /p/ (as in pet), not pea. This will help in blending. The names of each letter can follow later.
The letters have not been introduced in alphabetical order. We recommend that the letters s and m be taught first as they are continuous sounds and appear frequently in early print. They are also appropriate for first phonemic awareness sounds.
3. Blending and Spelling
Blending is the process of saying the individual sounds in a word and then sliding them together to make a word. The Alphabet Workout incorporates the unique Butterfly Park Blending Train to simplify this process and make it fun. For example, place the letter cards for c-a-t in sequence on the blending train. The train starts moving slowly /c/…../ă/…../t/ and then moves faster /c/.../ă/.../t/ and faster /c//ă//t/, until the word cat is said. It is a technique every child will need to learn, and it improves with practice. To start, sound out the word and see if a child can hear it, modeling the answer as needed. Some children take longer than others to hear this. The sounds must be said quickly to hear the word. There are lists of suitable words following the introduction of each new sound in Introduction to Letter Sounds.
Some words in English have an irregular spelling and cannot be read by blending, such as said, was and one. Unfortunately, many of these are common words. The irregular parts have to be remembered. These are called sight words and are taught in First 100 Sight Words.
Spelling--The easiest way to know how to spell a word is to listen for the sounds in that word. Even with the tricky sight words an understanding of letter sounds can help.
Begin with simple three letter words such as pig or hat. A good idea is to say a word and tap out the sounds. Three taps means three sounds. Say each sound as you tap. Take care with digraphs such as th, sh, ch, and wh--the word fish, for instance, has four letters but only three sounds, f-i-sh.
Vowel Pattern Practice for Reading and Spelling offers students a fun and independent way to practice reading and spelling words following both beginning and advanced spelling patterns.
4. Handwriting
It is important that students use the correct pencil grip from the beginning of their writing experience, as it is difficult to correct later on. Children should grip the pencil between the thumb and the first two fingers.
It is also critical that students be taught the correct formation of letters with downward strokes and curved lines going in the appropriate direction. Start points are indicated on Alphabet Workout beginning handwriting materials.
The unique thing about Alphabet Workout handwriting materials is that children are taught the formation of the letter in the same sequence that they are taught the sound of the letter. Repetition of previous letters is built into each lesson so that the student has plenty of opportunity to practice and review.
5. Vocabulary, Fluency, Comprehension
Our new and revised Decodable Mini Books and Activities offers opportunities to read books, build vocabulary, develop fluency, and increase comprehension. Check out our Alphabites blog for suggestions on inexpensive decodable reading series.
Mary Forhan is a reading specialist, teacher trainer, and author. She has a masters degree in reading education from the University of Illinois, and has been teaching children to read for over 35 years.
Darcie Frohardt is a reading specialist, teacher trainer, and illustrator. She teaches kindergarten in the Cherry Creek School District in Colorado. Darcie has taught preschool through college, as well as Title One Reading.
